Paediatric gastrointestinal endoscopy: experience in a Sudanese university hospital

Abstract

We investigated the indications for and findings of gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy in all children ≤ 16 years old referred for the procedure to the endoscopy unit at Soba University Hospital, Khartoum from January 2004 to January 2006. Thus 113 children were enrolled; 73% underwent upper GI endoscopy, 27% lower GI endoscopy (15% colonoscopy, 12% flexible sigmoidoscopy). Indications for upper GI endoscopy included haematemesis (24%), portal hypertension (21%), abdominal pain (16%) and vomiting (15%). Diagnoses included oesophageal varices (16%), gastritis (7%) and hiatus hernia (6%). Indications for lower GI endoscopy included rectal bleeding (87%), diarrhoea (19%) and anaemia (10%). ‫ﺍﻟﺴﻮﺩﺍﻥ‬ ‫ﰲ‬ ‫ﺟﺎﻣﻌﻲ‬ ‫ﻣﺴﺘﺸﻔﻰ‬ ‫ﺧﱪﺓ‬ ‫ﺍﻷﻃﻔﺎﻝ:‬ ‫ﻋﻨﺪ‬ ‫ﺍﳍﻀﻤﻲ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﺘﻨﻈﲑ‬

Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in children: The Lagos University Teaching Hospital experience

“…This finding is higher than in some reports from other developing countries where recurrent abdominal pain constitutes 8 -43% of the endoscopic indications. [6,[10][11][12] Okello et al [13] in Uganda observed that 67.4% of the 135 children undergoing the procedure in a tertiary hospital had recurrent abdominal pain. Recurrent abdominal pain is a common presentation in children and is a frequent reason for referral to the paediatric gastroenterologist with a request for upper GI endoscopy.…”

“…In Sudan, upper GI bleeding, especially secondary to PHT, is the most common reason for paediatric upper GI endoscopy. [6] This is believed to be related to the endemicity of schistosomiasis in the country.…”

“…Endoscopic findings in children do not appear to be documented in many paediatric endoscopic studies. [2,[5][6][7][10][11][12][13] In terms of endoscopic findings, 15.5% of our subjects had normal studies while the most common finding was gastritis (25.3%). Studies done in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Colombia have also reported similar findings.…”

“…In Sudan, the most common indication for upper GI endoscopy was haematemesis (24%) and portal hypertension (PHT) (21%), while the most common endoscopic findings were oesophageal varices (16%) and gastritis (7%). [6] In Uganda, gastritis and duodenal ulcers were found to be the most common endoscopic findings. [7] There is a dearth of information on the utility of the procedure in children, especially in the West African sub-region.…”

Upper GI Endoscopy in Children: An Experience from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU)

“…In various reports, this frequency of abdominal pain is reported to be ranging from 8% to 43%. [12][13][14] In our study, the frequency of abdominal pain as an indication of upper GI endoscopy was 12%. So our results are comparable to other reports from developing countries.…”